Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
